My Gaeltacht Experience!

Hey Everyone!

I'm back home after spending three weeks in the Gaeltacht in Leitír Móir in Galway! It's slightly surreal to be speaking English, listening to music in English and typing away on my laptop after three weeks of pure Irish. So I thought I'd write a blog post about my experiences over in the Gaeltacht.

So I went on the bus to the Gaeltacht and as the area is quite remote, it took a few hours (six if I recall) and we were divided into our houses, the people who later practically became family! Each day was completely the same but also completely different.

The day started at 7.45 am, with breakfast at 8. We arrived at the Colaíste at 9.30 (we left the house at 8.55, walked for 15 ish minutes then got the bus) sang Amhrán na bhFiann with classes at 10.

We also had ceílís every night which were honestly brilliant and so fun. Each night had a different theme and you dressed according to the theme. We learnt so many songs and dances in Irish, soon I was thinking completely in Irish. I'm back 2 days from Leitir Móir and I'm still thinking in Irish.

The weather was amazing while I was there too. If you scroll through my photos (I had 145 photos but I picked my favourites which are below) you'll see some of the utterly gorgeous scenery that I was walking around for 3 weeks. The temperature reached 29 degrees Celsius a few days so sun cream (urchtar gréine) became mo chara is fearr! (best friend) It got to the stage where I was applying sun cream 4 times a day.

However I tan quite easily so I'm now incredibly brown after spending three weeks outside. When I arrived home my Mam exclaimed ''Aveen, you're brown!'' At the start of the photos I look my normal self however the photograph progressively show my skin become more tanned whoop.

My vocabulary in English still isn't quite up to its usual standard so I'm taking the next few days easy (which is why the language in this post is slightly repetitive, sorry, just not used to speaking English again!) and just catching up on what happened in the three weeks I was gone. I still can't believe I survived three weeks without my laptop, phone and Wi-Fi!

It was definitely a brilliant and unforgettable experience and I learnt so much new vocabulary which I'll definitely be using in my Irish exams. It's brilliant to be back home and chatting to all my friends (both in my
town and on the internet/idirlíon) I really missed you all!

Here are some photos of my adventures in the Gaeltacht, if you're going on a course, or if you went on the same course as me, let me know down in the comments or wherever :D

Gaeltacht, Leitir Móir 2014

Some of the scenery. 

My wristbands and tan

With Mary and Aisling on the last night!

Selfie in the sunlight. 

Lots of doodles..

Last day of classes! (photobombed by some of the lads)

With Louise!

My class for the three weeks, Rang Naoise! (Who even was Naoise)

Last Day Selfie

Walking home from the ceilí and took this photo.

A selfie within a selfie

Some of the scenery

Last night in the Gaeltacht!

Last day selfie with Ashling!

Disco!

All the girls in my house :) 

Stay Strong, Happy & Fearless!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my time in the Gaeltacht, it was utterly brilliant and I'd love to go back next year (but I'll be doing my Leaving Cert *gulps*) 

Slán! 

Aveen xx

The Fault In Our Stars!

Hey Everyone!

Today is June 20th, which means FIVE more days until I'm home from the Gaeltacht, the excitement is paramount isn't it? Knowing me I'll be writing blog posts in Irish, let's hope that doesn't happen!

I'm writing today because The Fault In Our Stars is being released in cinemas in Ireland today. I'll go see it when I'm back of course, just the thoughts of it are making me fangirl and drown in feels.

I first heard of TFIOS in around October 2012 when I was watching tv and a book review of TFIOS was on. I was intrigued and interested in reading the book, despite the label of the book being ''a cancer book'' as the television presenters deemed it to be.

At the time, the book wasn't available in Ireland so I bought the book in an airport in London on the way home to Ireland. I hate flights, even 50 minutes flights. I read the book on the flight, which soothed me. I stayed up that night until 1 or 2 am and finished the book, and cried obviously.

I read TFIOS practically ten times over and over again. I'd never read a book like it. Hazel Grace was such a brilliant character who believe she was a 'grenade' and didn't want to befriend anyone in case she hurt everyone by dying.

And who could forget Augustus Waters? That pretentious and gorgeous boy who we all loved but wondered was his head stuck up his own behind. I'll say no more, but the book was and is intoxicating and beautiful. I honestly can't wait to see the film, I just know that Shailene and Ansel will be the perfect Hazel Grace and Gus.

'My thoughts are stars that I cannot fathom into constellations'  I'll leave my parting word as this quote by Gus, as I need a tissue to dry my tears. 

Stay Strong, Happy & Fearless!

Aveen xx

Photos are all from Google Images and/or Tumblr. I do not own any of these amazing photos. 

Summer! Guest Post By Christina Madeleine

Hey Everyone,

Here's a guest post by Christina Madeleine of 'This Fashion Girl' all about Summer! Enjoy! Aveen x

Summer is fast approaching. This means tanning by pools, going on vacations, getting Summer jobs, and overall just having a great time. I live in New York so my Summers are really hot and dry. My Summer vacation starts on June 14th and ends September 3rd which means I have a lot of time. I thought I would write about some Summer must-have’s and ideas to make this Summer the best.

I love to go to the pool and to the beach during the Summer. The necessities I bring would have to be:

          -Suntan lotion (put it on now to save your skin later)

          -Sunglasses (I love to have some stylish ones)

          -Towel

          -Waterproof Makeup (Mascara, BB Cream, and Eyeliner)

          -Lip balm

          -Shorts and a shirt

          Suntan lotion is really important to bring. I am one of those people who get really tan and don’t burn easily. But, it’s better to have suntan lotion on to protect from the harmful UV rays that cause skin cancer. The sun also causes wrinkles in the future and could be prevented by putting on suntan lotion and after a certain amount of time, covering up. I also suggest if you were to wear makeup, wear a lip balm that has SPF in it (I use the lemon EOS lip balm) and BB Cream.

          Summer is also the time to change yourself a bit. This Summer, my goal is to be comfortable with my body by putting good food into my body and working out more. I find that in the Summer I get motivated to improve myself. I also am volunteering at a pre-school camp 3-4 days a week to keep myself busy and babysitting. Ideas that you can do to keep yourself busy is volunteer at a camp, babysit, get a Summer job, or find something you are interested in and pursue it. I know that I am going to be blogging a lot.

          Summer should be a time of happiness, and fun. Go to the beach. Work that bikini! Just remember, there is no such thing as a bikini body and that everyone is perfect. I hope you all have a great Summer!

                                      -Christina Madeleine  (thisfashiongirl.blogspot.com )

Why I Love Fashion ~ Geek Chic Notes!

Hey Everyone! 

Here is an utterly brilliant guest post by Phoebs from Geek Chic Notes! I'm still in the Gaeltacht so a HUGE HUGE thank you to Phoebs for writing this lovely post, thank you so much! :) ~ Aveen x 

Hi! I am Phoebs, blogger from Geek Chic Notes. My blog is mainly beauty and fashion, with a bit of lifestyle thrown in there too. To introduce you a bit to me and my blog, I thought I would tell you why I love fashion so much.

My love of fashion hasnt been passed through the family, my mum is not Anna Wintour's PA (my mum actually is a teaching assistant) and my dad certainly is not Marc Jacobs right hand man (my dad is a banker). I have just always loved putting my own outfits together.

Stepped outside of my comfort zone and purchased a bowler hat haha.

As a young one, I was always wanting to choose  my own outfits, much to my mums annoyance. I always had my birthday clothes planned out weeks before the day itself! Something about clothes and 'expressing yourself' to some extent always appealed to me I guess.

My love of fashion started young, but what draws me in? I think its how broad the industry is, the fashion world is very fast paced and everyone loves something about it. Also everyone needs clothes, duh.

Shopping. My I do love shopping. However I am very careful. I look up clothes online, really checking out the whole selection before going to a store and picking out the pieces I've eyed up. The only store I do a lot of impulse buying is dear primark, the things you can find in there are amazing.

My fashion inspirations would first off have to be any fashion blog I have read. I get so many ideas and tips for creating outfits, shops I need to check out and loads more. Also I love all the styles in Gossip Girl. They always look so well turned out, paticularly Blair.

To summarise, my love of fashion all gets put in one place: My blog. I love sharing my OOTDS, get ready with me and how I style something. I love looking back on my own outfits and how my style has changed. If you want to see loads more fashion posts, head over to my blog!

From my how I style Skater Skirts post.

Thats all I got today, hope you enjoyed a little taster of my blog, haha. For more of me, check out my blog Geek Chic Notes or if you prefer Blog Lovin, the link is here

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/8524731

Goodbye!x

How To: Become A Confident Woman! ~ LifeWithShelby Guest Post

Hey Everyone!

As I’m still in the Gaeltacht, the lovely Shelby of LifeWithShelby has written a guest post about ‘How to become a confident woman’ Hope you all enjoy reading it and thanks again to Shelby for writing the post. ~ Aveen xx

I want to talk about this amazing thing that happened to me in the last year, I became a woman.

Here's what I believe: You don't become a woman immediately into adulthood. It's a process and it comes with age, experience, and an extreme growth in confidence. A woman has standards, integrity, and security with herself. I don't put people down, I raise them up! People respond better to positivity, and that's something I hope you already know. If not, you need to read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

I feel like for several years prior I was living to that Britney Spears song, "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman".

When I turned 18 I remember being like, "I'm an adult, I can do whatever I want!" and I was such an annoying POS about it. The truth is, I was legally an adult (in the United States) but I was NOT a woman yet.

I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (so so so so) insecure. I think a lot of people, actually scratch that, MOST people are insecure. That's so sad to me! OMG. I think we all have this little voice inside of us that speaks nothing but death to our lives. I remember always being insecure that I wasn't going to have the nicest dress on at the party, I was going to be the tallest one, I wasn't going to be the best speaker, or I was going to fail.

Do you know that girl that ALWAYS talks crap about everyone? That girl is incredibly insecure! It's true. She has to put everyone down so it takes all the negative attention off of her.

I really wanted to tell you this because I wanted to give you some hope. Girls!!!! You are amazing and you just gotta believe that. Nobody is just exactly like you. There will come a day when you are just completely comfortable in your own skin, I envy the girls that had that undeniable confidence earlier than I. I wish I could have lived in that peace. Just trust the process, you will get there!!!

XOXO

Shelby

'How The Environment Aids The Learning Behaviour Of College Students ~ Guest Post

Hey Everyone! 

As I'm still away, here is another guest post. I found this post by Nikki to be quite interesting, especially as I'll be going to college in a year and a bit. Definitely worth a read and thanks again to Nikki for writing the article! ~ Aveen x

"How The Environment Aids The Learning Behavior Of College Students?”

Introduction:

It is important and even imperative that Canadian students have the right kind of environment which nourishes and reinforces safe, positive and reliable learning. It is not only necessary for the students to well accommodative, well behaved and receptive to learning, but equally, or even more important that the teaching faculty and educators make best use of their time and efforts to enforce a creative, positive and healthy environment for learning.

Creative a positive and healthy environment for learning:

This could indeed be done by embracing new and student-focussed technology and its impacts that could offer maximum support and learning aids to all kinds of students. It is indeed important that children, especially smaller ones, are taught the right kind of values and disciplines that not only endure throughout their lives but also offer maximum worth and academic value. The inculcation of the right kind of values does go a long way in terms of creating excellent environment for positive and healthy learning conduct

 Dwell on the positive and improve the learning attitudes

It is important for educators to focus on the positives of learning conduct for students. While it is not always necessary to condone mistakes and faults, especially if they threaten to become habits, it needs to be done the right way.

Students must learn from their own experiences, rather than have discipline and authority imposed on them. Imposing obedience does not serve any useful purpose, on the contrary, it only serves to exacerbate an already bad interpersonal situation.

Tact and diplomacy create better environmental good rather than rule of laws:  For offering unique and pleasant academic environment it is necessary that tact and discretionary steps are profusely used, and conflict zones are reduced, or avoided. Instead of bluntly and point blankedly stating that he or she is wrong, it would be better to state that although he, or she is on the right track, the answer needs to be more narrowly or more broadly specific. This utterance would not only be face saving but could also earn the gratitude of the student of not being publicly pulled up in class.

An objective, professional and purposeful method is always useful:

Often, coming to terms with academics could be both stressful and wearing for both educators and the educated. A professional approach and attitude could indeed work wonders, since this saves emotions from both sides- academic facilitator and the facilitated. This could remove much of the outbursts and unprofessional aspects of academic business and instill academic rigor, discipline, objectivity and restraint into it. Most of all it could inculcate and endorse healthy, hazard free and harmonious environmental interactions between educators and subjects for overall good. The environment should be such that facilitates quality teaching and educating, devoid of stress and strain, feeling that educating  is a burden or a task, and students also need to turn themselves into eager,  dedicated and obedient  receptacles of learning and knowledge.

While teachers are indeed reservoirs of wisdom, learning and ideas, self generated or otherwise, students are the receptacles and receivers of such wisdom that needs to enrich and flourish their academics and prospective careers.

Conclusion:

Just as the soil needs to be fertilized and enriched before sowing, in much the same way, the right kind of pleasant, congenial and stress free environment needs to be prepared for propagating and promoting education and educative activities. Both students and teachers have major responsibilities in ensuring that the environment must foster and nourish the academic experience and both needs to gain from it.

Author-bio:

I am Nikki Merrill and in the beginning of my career as a writer, I worked for one of the finest essay writing service in the writing industry. Without any doubt, this experience allowed me to be a full time professional freelance writer who can carry out any sort of academic as well as non-academic assignments. So far, I could carry out assignments for a lot of students across the world, articles essays and dissertation writing for different bloggers, journals as well as to some other online publications. All my experience and expertise have a say while I prepared the article, "How the Environment Aids the Learning Behavior of College Students?”

June Third, Hello An Gaeltacht!

Hey Everyone!

So today is June Third. This date may seem like your average, insignificant day. However for me this is a slightly historic and ''big day'' for me. I'm going to the Gaeltacht today! 

I will admit that this post is a lovely scheduled post, a rare occurrence for me. All my posts on Tumblr and Blogspot until June 25th will be scheduled posts as any sort of modern technology such as phones and laptops are not allowed whilst I'm there. 

This a big deal for me. I've never been away from home for longer than a week. I've been to Krakow and London but I've never spent three weeks in Galway without my parents! Don't worry at the weekends they are allowed to visit me (yay) but they probably won't understand me as I'll be speaking so much Irish. 

You might be wondering, ''Why on earth would someone go to the other side of the country and spend three weeks there speaking Irish?'' Well there's a simple answer. I need the points for my Leaving. I want to become a primary school teacher after secondary school. One of the (many) requirements is a C3 in Honours Irish, I'm getting higher than that at the moment in my tests, but being the high achiever that I am, I'd like to get a higher grade (and to also just improve my fluency in general) 

Being honest, I really like Irish. It's a lovely language that I love to speak. It's also really fun going abroad and speaking Irish all over the place, it freaks people out! When I went to London we sang 'Thriftshop' as Gaeilge and translated the voice of the Underground stations, it was comical. 

Now however, it's time to go, I'm bringing my camera with me to the Gaeltacht so you'll see photos of my three week adventure in Galway! 

Go n-éirí an bothar leat agus slán abhaile. 

Aveen xx